Sewing machine



FIG. I.

July 16, 1946.

G., SAUEB SEWING MACHINE I Filqd Aug. 25, 1942 4 Shasta-Sheet 1 INVENTCRI GEORGE 534055 July 16, 1946. s. SAUER 2,404,318

snwme mourns Filed Aug. 25, 1942 4 Shouts-Sheet 2 K V INVENTQR- Mama"mum July 16,. 1946. GSAU 2,404,318

SEWING MACHINE Filed Aug. 25, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet s July 16, 1946. s u2,404,318

v SEWING MACHINE Filed Aug. 25, 1942 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 .,1', :4 m I m 2 5w- L H) W|(\\J m b In I O In: P I. m P

2 g; LL INVENTOR GEORGE S/il/El? ATTOR EY Patented July 16, 1946 rSEWING MACHINE George Sauer, Chicago, 111., assignor to Union- SpecialMachine Company, Chicago, 111., a cor- "poration of Illinois IApplication August 25,1942, Serial No. 455,977

13 Claims. (01. 112 256) This invention relates to an improvedconstruction for sewing machines having a rotar looptaker or hook of thevertical axis type and more particularly to a construction by whichadequate, but accurately regulated, lubrication of the hook raceway andother portions of the hook assembly of such machines is insured.

An object of the invention hasbeen to provide a simple, compact andreadily accessible device for accurately regulating the supply oflubricant to the raceway of a vertical axi's'jhook from a reservoirdisposed below the plane of said raceway. A feature, in this connection;is the provision of a single member which serves both'to induce orassist in the pumping of the lubricant, and to reg'-' ulate the flow ofthe lubricantso pumped. The arrangement is such that the capacity of thepumping means is normally in excess of the re quirements of the racewaybut the flowactually created by the pumping means is restricted, throughmanual adjustment of a part of such means, so as to cause delivery ofjust the right amount of lubricant. The adjustment of .said part isreadily effected from the exterior of the machine, without the removalof any elements, so thatcompensation may easily be made for var.-iations in flow due to wear of the parts, the use of lubricants ofdifferent viscosities, or due to substantial changes in the spe'edofvoperation of the machine.- Adequate lubrication of the raceway may,accordingly, be provided at all times without danger of soiling the'workorthethread and without wastage of oil.

In the preferred form of the invention the lu-. bricant supply and themeans for pumping. and

regulating its flow are formed as a unit in the frame or saddle whichcarries the hook. The latter is provided with a hollow shaft throughwhich the lubricant is fedby the pumpingv action of means within the.bore of the shaft. This means, preferably in the form of a spirallygrooved'core pin, is supported for axial adjustmentwithin said bore andthrough such adjustment serves to restrict more or less, the flow of oilthrough the bore, induced by rotation of the hook shaft, Y

Another feature of the invention is the;provlsion of constantlyeffective means for lubricating certain cam or eccentric devicesassociated with the hook unit and takingpart 'inthe operation of thesame. Atthe same time,.contamination of the lubricant by dirt or byparticles worn from the cooperating surfaces. of the driving gears isavoided so that the delivery of only clean oil to. the hook raceway,is-insured.

.Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will'appearfrom a detailed description of an illustrative form of the same whichwill now be given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. I is a top plan view of aportion of the base of a sewing machineembodying thepresent i'nventiori, certain cover plate being removed.

Fig. II is a bottom plan View of said portion of the base, parts ofcertain oil reservoirs being broken away for purposes of betterillustration of their interiors. Y r I Fig. III is'an enlargedverticalsectional view along the line III'III of Fig. I;

Fig. IV is a perspective view of a cover element embodied in theimproved machine.

Fig. V is .aperspe'ctive view of a gasket asso;

ciated with they cover element.

Fig. VI is a detail view in axial section through a bushing embodied inthe machine.

Fig. VII is a transverse, vertical sectional view along the line VII-VIIof Fig. I. Fig. VIII is a horizontal. sectional viewron a reduced scaletaken along the line VIII-VIII of Fig. III, and

Fig. IX is a detail view partly in elevation and partly in section takenalong the line IXIX of Fig, VIII.

Referring now to the drawings, the invention has been shown inconnection with a machine of the general type more fully disclosed inthe application of'O'scar Quist, Ser. No. 326,828 filed 28, 1942.pending applications for further details as to the March 30, 1940, whichhas matured into Patent No. 2,329,484, Sept. 14, 1943 and in applicantspending application SernNo. 436,554 filed March Reference may be had tosaid prior construction and operation of parts of the machine formingthe setting for the novel devices herein more fully disclosed.

The illustrative machine comprises a vertical standard (not shown)rising from one end of a base portion 9. A laterally extending arm alsonot shown) which overhangs the base portion is provided at the upper endof said standard;

In this overhanging arm there are suitable devices for supporting andoperating a needle bar which carries at its lower end a plurality ofvertically reciprocable needles Ill, indicated in cross section in Fig.I. While the illustrative machine is of multiple needle constructioncertain features v of the invention may, if desired, be applied to asingle needle machine. A main driveshaft, supported by the standard andextending through the overhanging arm, is provided with a combinedpulley and hand wheel through whichpowciatedi devices.

, er is supplied to thevarious operating devices in the machine. Anoscill atable shaft ll (Fig. II), supported by suitable bearings I2, isadapted to be operated in properly timed relation to other devices inthe machine by appropriate connection with the above-mentioned maindrive shaft.

An arm 13 secured to the shaft H has attached to its upper end a feeddog bar l4 carrying a feed to maintain the proper relationship betweenthe gears 20 and 2| as the frame is adjusted. Al-

lowance may thus be made for different sized needles, in single andmultiple needle machines,

and for different needle spacings in multiplefl needle machines.

dog I5 (Fig. I). As shown, portions of the feed dog are arranged topass, upwardly through, and

longitudinally of. slots 1 6" formed in a throat plate I! constitutinga, part of the work support ing surface of the machine. 1

As an integral part ofthe frame 2! there is 7 provided a chamber 39,laterally in line with the hook shaft 23, which constitutes a lubricantreservoir for the oil utilized in lubricating various surfaces of thehook unit. A relatively large opening is provided at one sideof thereservoir, this Also extending longitudinally of thebase pore,

tion :of the machine and suitably journaled in bearings carried by thelatter is a rotatable shaft being closed by a plate '40 and a gasket 4|clampedin place 'by any suitablemeans such as screws 42, The lubricantmay be introduced through a closable cup 43 fitted into a suitable I8.This may be connected with the main drive of the type disclosed in saidQuist application, or intheipatent to Christensen No. 2,113,572,grantejdflApril 12, 1938. An eccentric carried by the' 'shaft"l8cooperates, with 'a' strap l9 (Fig. II)

7 shaft, hereinbefore mentioned, through-gearing opening at the top'of-the chamber 39. At its upper end this chamber communicates withanother chamber 44 which extends laterally toward and serves to impartthe desired lifting and lowering movements to the feeddog [5. A pair ofspiralge'ars w,secured to the shaft l8,'meshes with'coope'rating spiralgears 2| (Fig. III) each of which is secured by asst-screw 22 to ahollow, vertically extending 's l1aft 23 which carries at itsupper'endthe rotary component of a" rotary looptaker or hook designatedgenerally asj'24." The two hook units, each including a shaft 23 and itsassociated hook 24,1'are substantially identical except for the factthat certain parts of one unit are off right hand construction whilethose of the other areof'left handconstruction. It will machine. Shaft23is journaled in suitable bushings 25 and 25*mounted in spaced portions210.

. and 21b of a saddle or fram'e'Zl constituting the main support for therotaryhook and the asso Gear 2! is secured to the shaft 23 between thebushings 25 and 26 within are'cess 28 formed'between the spaced portions27a and 7 27b of the frame. The latter is adjustably carried by the baseportion 3 of the machine and for this purpose is rovided with a splitcollar extension 29 (Figs. II and VII) adapted to surround a bushing 39extending through and projecting laterally from one of a pair of bearingsupports 3| for the shaft [8. A clamping screw ,32 serves to clamp thesplit collar in adjusted position on the shaft'23 and constitutes anextension of the reservoir space. 'The lower end "of the chamber 39 isconnected by a passage 45 with another, smaller chamber 46 formed in anextension 41 (Fig. III)'at"the bottom of the frame. Chamber 46constitutes an auxiliary reservoir, at the lower end of the hook shaft23, which may be considered an extension of the "main reservoir. Thisauxiliary reservoir is closed by means'of an, ad-

. justable screw threaded plug 48 cooperating with threads in the bottomof the extension 41. When the plug is turnedto the desired position, itmay be locked in place bya nut49 which may, at the same time, clamp a'gasketiflgagainst the under surface of the extension 4'4. In the uppersurface;

of the plug there is provided a diametrical groove or slot 5| adaptedtoreceive' a tongue '52 at the lower end of a core 'pin 53. This corepin is provided with'a spiralgroove 54 throughout the major portion ofits length, commencing at a point a slight distance up from the bottom.Adjacent thejtwb ends of the grooved portion thediameter of the pin isslightly enlarged, as indicated at 55 and 56. Theseenlarged sections areadapted to fit snugly, i. e. with a bearing fit, within therhol- 7 10wbore of the shaft 23, while the part ofthe' pinw intermediatev thesections 55 and 56 is of the'bearingsleeve. At its opposite end theframe 21 is provided with an extension 33 having a rounded upper surface34 (Fig. VII) adapted to cooperate with a flatunder surface ona portion35fof the base 9. A screw 36, passing through an elongated slot 3'!(FigtII) in the extension 33,

has screw-threaded engagement with the portion 35 of the base and whentightenedserves to clamp the corresponding end ofthe frame 21 in placeIt will beiseen from the'foregoing that the frame 21 may readily beadjusted along the bushing 30 and portion 35 of the base of the machine;Screws 32and '36 maysimply be loosened for this purpose andthen'tightened again to clamp 'the frame in thedesired position. A screw38,

which serves-to secure the spiral gear 20 tothe shaft I8, may bemanipulated at the same time somewhat reduced diameter. duce thefriction and to provide, most effectively, the desired oil pumpingaction to be ex lained. Above the section 56 thecore pin is providedwith a tapered or pointed end v5'! adapted to cooperate with an aperturein an annular member 58' mounted in the upper end of the shaftv23 or thebottom of. the rotating component 59. of the rotary hook.

1 .It will be understood that due to the spiral groove 54 in the corepin, which is held stationary by the screw plug 48, oilthat is deliveredby gravity from the reservoir into the lower end of the shaft 23 will beelevated by a viscosity pump action created upon the rotation of theshaft 23;

The oil so elevated will be 'forced through therestricted passagebetween the tapered end 51 of b the core pin and the aperturein themember 58 which constitute a needle valve. It will be receiv'edbyasmallpocket above the member 58; formedbeneath a plate 65 intheb-ottom of the rotary component of the hook, and will be deliveredfrom this through a tube 6|, to a channel 62 in the wall of therotarygcomponent. This channel forms a raceway for a ribo .flange 63projecting laterally from the wall of a stationary, bobbincarryingcomponent 64 of the hook. It is important thatjust the. right amount oflubricant shouldbe deliveredto the raceway 62 to This serves to reavoidun'due friction and overheating, on the one hand; andto avoid the"splatter-ing of oil upon thev worker the stitching threads, on theotherhand. A very nice and very accurate control of this 111-- brican'tsupply is provided by "the core pin construction and mounting 'justdescribed. By turning the screwplug- 48-'the core pin may be lifted orlowered,- as desired, to provide just the right restriction between thepoint 5-? and the member.

58; This longitudinal"adjustmentof'the core pin, moreover, maybe very"quickly and simply effectent viscosity, or due to a change in the speedof operation of the "machine; may-be quickly takenc are' of.Furthermore, the construction is relatively-simple and inexpensive toproduce. I Sufficient freedom of movement isprovided between the slot Eland tongue 52 to make it unneces-- saryt'o employ anyhigh degree ofaccuracy in the productionof the parts.

Thebushings 25 and 25 may be-forrned of suitablematerial, but they arepreferably of a porous, lubricant-absorbing type of a material, such'as"that known as oilite. Ordinarily, theoil levelin the reservoir 39-wi1lbe such as to create asl'ight head of. chat thelevel of thetopof thebushing '26. Accordingly, there is a slight tendency'toward leakageof'oilat this point. To reduce thisto a minimum the-inner surface of thebushing 26*is provided with -af:g roove fitigof opposite sense to'thegroove 54 in the core'pin. Hence, the'groove (55 serves, upon'rotationofthe shaft 23, to force downwardy into the reservoir afi any oil whichhas come between the shaft and the bushing.

Adjacent the upper end of the shaft 23 it is provided with an eccentricportion 66 cooperating with a strap integral with apitman 61. The latteris apertured adjacent its free end toreceivethehead of a screw or bolt68 carriedby an arm 69 01 a rock member having sleeve portion 10surrounding a reduced section of a pin H carried'by theframeZl. A largeheaded screw 12 is provided to retain the sleeve on the pin. At theupper end of the sleeve a laterally extending arm 13, having an enlargedblock-like portion M at its free end, serves to support an escapementmember 15. Thisim'ember is secured to the block 14 by a screw'lB and .isoscillated upon each revolution of the hook shaft. The operation of theescapement member upon the stationary component-of the rotary hook, toenable the thread loop to escape around the retainer which holds thestationary member against rotation, is well known and need not befurther described.

The escapement operating mechanism" just described is located in theextension Mof the reservoir. Provision is made for proper lubricationof' this mechanism. For this purpose a wick member, such as a felt pad11, is provided, this extending downwardly from the top of the reservoirto a point near the bottom of the latter. It may suitably occupysubstantially the entire passage connecting the. reservoir 39 with theextension 44. The upper end of this extensionis closed by means of atwo-piece cover composed of elements 18 and 19 which are secured byscrews or the like to the top of the frame 21. The cover element 18 isprovided with anopening 80 surrounded by an upstanding fcollar 8l'adapted to encircle the eccentric 66 "and 'thestrap' portion-of thepitman 61. An

up'r'aise'd portion 82 of it-e: cover element. 18 151- adaptedtoreceive" and retain.v a awick' or felt.

. strap-portion of the pitman 61, during awpor- Pad,v 83 is.

tion of the rotation of the latter; held up at spaced pointsby a. seriesoftprojections 84 on the lower cover .element19 extend-= inginwardlyfrom the sides of an. opening 85 alined with-the upraised portion of thetop cover element; The lower coverelement isalso formed with .a circularopening 86 alin'edwith: thetolpening 8'0;

In the operation'of the machine; oil1which= is: elevated by the wickingI1 is delivered to-the: outer end of the pad 83 and is carried.byjthis:v to a point adjacent the strap portion of pitmani 61; Uponeach revolution of the shaft. 23: at

small amount of this oil is wiped from .th'erpa'd by the strap and isdelivered to a depression: 81 in the top of the pitman 61; From thisde'--' pression a portion of the lubricant is delivered: through a smallopening to the outer perip'h-= cry of the eccentric '66 while anotherportioni is delivered to a recess above the top of the. bolt '68.- Thelatter oil serves to lubricate the relatively moving surfaces on the:connectedl parts 61, 68 and'69. So also, a part of. this oil: isdelivered along a groove 89 in the upper surface of the arm 69 to anopening- 9 0 through which it is supplied to the bearing-surface of. thepin 'H." Some of the oil delivered to the' eccentric '66 may also' becarried into the bushing 25 to lubricate the bearing surface :of thelatter.

While an illustrative e bodiment of the invention 'has been described'in' considerable d'e-- tail, it will be understood that numerouschanges may be made in the construction, ar-- rangement and cooperationof the various parts without departing from the general principles andscope of the invention. The terms and express'ions used herein have beenemployed asterms of description and not of limitation.

What I claim is:

1. In a sewing machine, a. vertical axis hook having a hollow shaftconnected therewith, said' hook having a raceway, a lubricant reservoircommunicating with the lower end of said shaft, adjustable means withinthe bore of said, shaft operable ,only upon rotation of the shafttoinduce a flow of lubricant therethrough to said raceway by a positivepumpingaction dependent upon said rotation, and means so cooperat ingwith said first recited means that adjustment of the latter will varythe quantity oflubricant delivered through-said bore to the raceway.

2. 'In a sewing machine, a vertical axis hook" having a hollow shaftconnected therewith, said hook having a raceway, a lubricant reservoircommunicating with the lower end of said shaft, means within the bore ofsaid shaft operable only upon rotation of the shaft to induce a flow oflubricant therethrough to said raceway by a positive pumping action,means adjacent the lower end of said shaft for axially adjusting saidmeans within the bore, and means so cooperating with said first recitedmeans that adjustment of the latter will vary the quantity of lubricantdelivered through said bore to the raceway.

3. In a sewing machine, a vertical axis hookhaving a hollow shaftconnected therewith, said hook having a raceway, a lubricant reservoircommunicating with the lower end of said shaft,

means within the bore of said shaftpperable only upon rotation of theshaftto induce a flow of lubricant therethrough to said raceway by apositive pumping action,v screw means for adjustably supporting thelower'end of said means within the bore of said shaft, and meanscooperating with said meanswithin the bore, of

said shaft for regulating the quantity'of lubri-; cant delivered throughsaid bore to the raceway,

.4. In a sewing machine .a vertical axis hook having rotary andnon-rotary componentswith a raceway therebetween, a reservoir forsupplying lubricant to said raceway, an a elongated member enclosed in atubular passage in said rotary component, said member and the wall ofsaid passage being, relatively movable and operativev uponrotation, ofsaidlrotary component' to inducethe flow of lubricant from saidreservoir through'said passage to said raceway, said member having ataperedend, means cooperating with said tapered end to restrict the flowof said lubricant, and means for shift,

ing said member axially relative to said cooper- V atingmeans toregulate the flow of lubricant. 15. Ina sewing machinea verticalaxisrhook said, raceway, means; cooperating with said member to restrictthe flow of said lubricant, and adjustable means forsupporting said memeher and shifting the same relative to said cooperating means to vary theflow of the lubricant.- f

6.nl' n a. sewing machine a'vertical axis hook having rotary andnon-rotary components with araceway therebetween, said rotary component,

having a; pendant hollow shaft, a reservoir for supplyinglubricanttosaid raceway, a member within the bore of said, shaft operative uponrotation of said rotary component to induce the flow of lubricant. fromsaid reservoir to said raceway, said member having 'a tapered end,"

means cooperating with said tapered end and forming a'needle tvalvetherewith to restrict the flow of said lubricant, and adjustable meansfor supporting said member and shifting the same I relative to saidcooperating means tovarythe flow of the lubricant.

,7. In a, sewing machine a' vertical axis hook havingrotary andnon-rotary components with Va raceway therebetween, said rotarycomponent having a pendant hollow shaft, a reservoir for supplyinglubricant to said raceway, a member within the bore of. said shaftoperative upon 7 rotation of said rotary component to induce the flow oflubricant from said reservoir to said raceway, said member having atapered end, means cooperating with said tapered end and,

forming a needle valve therewith to restrict the flow of said lubricant,and an adjustable screw i plug axially alined with said member andarranged to support the same. if V a v I 8. A vertical axis hook unitwhich comprises a frame, ahollow shaft journalled in said frame, arotary hook component carriedbynsaid shaft,

a stationary hook component cooperating with.

a raceway in said rotary'component, achamber in s aid frame providing alubricant reserQ voir, thebore of said shaft communicating withsaid-reservoir, a member withinisaid bore adapt-- it edto positivelypump lubricantfrom said reser- 'voir, to said raceway upon rotation ofsaidyrotary component, means for shifting said mem ber axially withinsaid bore, and means, co-= operating with said member to regulate theflow of lubricant by axial shifting of said member. V

9. A vertical axis hook unit which -comprises a frame, a hollow shaftjournalled in said frame, a rotary hook component carried by said shaft,a stationary hook component co-- operating with a raceway in saidrotarycom ponent, a chamber in said frame providinga lubricantreservoir, the boreof said shaft com-n municating with said reservoir, amember within said bore a'daptedto induce the flow of lubricant fromsaid reservoir to said raceway upon rotation of said rotary component,means cooperating with said member tolimit the flow of lubricant, andmeans for holding said mem ber stationary during rotation of saidcomponent, said last namedmeans being adjustable to shift saidmember'relative to said'cooperating means and thereby" vary the flow 0lubricant.

, 7 10. A vertical axis hook unit which am -f prises a frame, a hollowshaft journalledjin said frame, a rotary hook componentcarried bysaidshaft, a stationary'hook component cooperatin'g with a raceway in saidrotary com- V ponent, a chamber in said frame providing la lubricantreservoir, the bore of said shaft communicating with said reservoir,. amember within said bore adapted to induce the flow of lubricant fromsaid reservoir to said, racewayupon rotation of said rotary component,"means U cooperating with said member to limit the flow.

of lubricant, and an adjustable screw plug in the bottom of said framefor supporting said member in variable relation to saidcooperating meansand holding said member against rotation. 4

11. A vertical axis hook unit which cornprises a frame, a hollow shaftjournalled in said frame, a rotary hook component carried by said shaft,a stationary hook component cooper ating with a raceway in said rotarycomponent, an escapement member. cooperatingwith said stationarycomponent, connections from said shaft for actuating said escapementmember,ia. chamber in said frame providing a lubricant, reservoir, thebore of 'said shaft communicating." with said reservoir,'a 'memberwithinsaid bore adapted toinduce the flow of lubricant from said reservoir'tosaid raceway upon. rotation of said rotary component, means for shiftingsaid mern-r ber axially within said bore to regulate the flow, oflubricant, and wick means within saidframe, effective upon rotation ofsaid rotary, component to deliver lubricant from said reservoir to saidconnections.

12. A'vertical axis hook unit which comprises a frame, a' shaft disposedvertically in said frame, a rotary hook component carried by said,shaft, v a stationary "component having bearing surfaces cooperatingwith said rotarycomponent, a' 'chamber in said frame formingraflubricantreservoir, means forv delivering-lubricant from,

. said reservoir'to said bearing surfaces upon rotalevel of thelubricantin said reservoir for'actu-v f ating said escapement member,and wick means in said frame extendingfroni saidreservoir to a I pointadjacent said driving means efl'ective upon 'rotation of said rotarycomponent to deliver lubricant from said reservoir to. said drivingmeans. a l

13. A vertical axis hook unit which comprises a frame, a shaft disposedvertically in said frame,

a rotary hook component carried by said shaft, V

a stationary component having bearing surfaces 7 cooperating with saidrotarycomponent, a chamber in'said frame forming a lubricant reservoir,means for delivering lubricant from said reservoir to said bearingsurfaces upon rotation of said from said'wick element and delivering itto said 10 actuating means;

GEORGE 'SAUER.

